Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Health in the village. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![waiting. “ We’ll say grace,” he said ; and we sat down three generations of us. The village carrier was there ; the mug of beer was for him. In ten minutes we had finished. I observed that little was said during our meal. All rose. “ The Lord be praised,” he said. In a minute the few plates were gone. A Bible was set down before each of us. My grey-eyed friend began to read, “ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their’s is the Kingdom of Heaven.” We all read the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, each a verse ; with just an occasional literary catastrophe from the youngest and from the carrier. Then the head of the family knelt and prayed a short prayer and rose. “You will sleep here,” he said. “Is the room ready, Jane?” “ Yes,” said she ; “ and I hope the gentleman won’t wonder if he hears us moving about in the morning.” “ Oh! no,” I said, “ I shall be up early too.” “ But it’s churning morning,” said Jane ; “ sisters and I begin churning at Three. That’s early for such as you. You see, sir, we like to get churning done before the day’s work begins at Six.” “ Do you see the empty chair there ? ” said the father; “ that’s her Mother’s,” said he ; “ tain’t empty though exactly. The children all thinks she is there, and tries to do as she did or would wish them now. That keeps them up, you see. It’s our way in Lowmarsh—always was. Don’t know how it will be. They disputes so now. They’s always making new laws. The’ve given up bidding us be law for ourselves as they used. It’s all very well about cottages ; I hold to ’em. But these Hares, the good ones was good in a bad cottage, and the bad one would be bad in a good one. Why, if those old maids was angels they couldn’t love one another more than they did. One’s gone home. Some on ’em came from London and held a meeting off the Plough t’other day. They said they was just come to throw ovcr the parson and take the land and the farmers and the landlords and the whole lot of us. Many of them said ‘ Hoorray! come on!’ They kept to that some time. Then the good lot said, ‘ Why, if you don’t do your best as you be now, you won’t be no better off then. Seems to me ’ [• I] G](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24905719_0097.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
